Lanao del Sur town mayor, 3 others survive ambush in Cagayan De Oro

Police officers conduct a forensic examination on the crime scene where the vehicle of Lumbaca-Unayan, Lanao del Sur mayor Somerado Guro was waylaid in Cagayan de Oro on Wednesday morning (June 3). —PHOTOS BY JIGGER J. JERUSALEM

MANILA, Philippines — The mayor of Lumbaca Unayan town in Lanao del Sur and his three companions were hurt after unidentified gunmen riding tandem on a motorcycle, shot them in Cagayan de Oro on Wednesday morning.

In its initial report, the Police Regional Office 10 identified the victims as 60-year-old Somerado Guro, the mayor of Lumbaca Unayan, his wife Rohaifa Guro, 26; and their driver Ibrahim Gani, 58.

Based on initial police information, the mayor, his wife, driver, and the mayor’s nephew Abdul Rafi Guro, 19, were on board a black pick up truck and were driving along Zone 2 Barangay Iponan and were heading to Lano del Sur when the gunmen appeared and opened fire at their vehicle at about 9:30 a.m.

Police said the gunmen fled the crime scene after the shooting. Lt. Wilfredo Uba Jr., deputy commander of the Bulua police station, said that after the shooting, Gani managed to drive the truck to a hospital.

According to police, Guro, his wife, and their driver sustained gunshot wounds while the mayor’s nephew was unhurt.

Investigators found 10 spent shells of from a .45-caliber pistol in the crime scene.

Gani told investigators that he noticed a motorcycle tailing them just before the shooting happened. Police said a bullet grazed Gani in the neck.

Maj. Aldrin Baculio, Bulua police chief, said the mayor is in stable condition. He sustained gunshot wounds on his thigh and neck, police said.

Baculio said the mayor’s wife however is in a critical state at the hospital’s intensive care ward.

Investigators are still establishing the motive behind the shooting.

/MUF